>> the blossoms are blooming, for one of washington's most famous celebrations. we will look ahead to the start of the cherry blossom festival. >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> good morning, washington. friday, to rise and shine. i am cynne simpson. >> we have made it to friday. thanks for joining us, i am alison starling. we will check in with lisa baden in a moment. first, steve rudin. we have cherry blossoms and it still feels like winter. >> a week ago today it was near 80 degrees. nothing like that on the way any time soon. it is a cold start to this friday morning. 30 degrees at dulles, 25 in frederick, 27 in hagerstown. it feels more like a late winter outside. skies are mainly clear right

now. we will abundant sunshine for the morning. the clouds will start to increase in the late afternoon. here is the forecast. high temperatures will be in the mid to upper 40's to about 50 degrees. mostly cloudy skies by 11:00 tonight with temperatures around 40. snowfall in the forecast for the weekend. first, let's hear what lisa baden has to say. not talking about much. i have been checking with fairfax police and friends in montgomery county and its good and prince george county nothing in the district. metro rail anticipating normal service. giving you the green light between richmond and baltimore. there's more to come, but now to a news. breaking news. the two children allegedly abducted by their father have been found. 22-year-old robert anderson abducted two-year-old robert anderson iii and 10-month-old

tiara anderson fin the 2300 block of 15th street northeast. anderson is in police custody. was taken into custody without incident. teams are trying to retrieve the body of a construction worker who died after a trench collapsed in northeast d.c. they spend hours along the 1200 block of evartdss street, trying to dig him out, but the conditions were like quicksand. he became trapped under heavy mud after he altered a support system. a worker has not been identified. another big story we are following. the admission that an air traffic controller was sleeping while two airplanes tried to land at reagan national. we are hearing from one of the passengers on board. pamela brown joins us from the airports with what that man had to say after this ordeal.

>> good morning. we spoke with a passenger on the first flight that came into reagan national during the early morning on wednesday. he said that more than anything he was shocked to learn that there was only one person manning the tower at reagan national airport overseeing critical air space in our nation's capital. the investigation into how and why two flights landed wednesday morning with no official clearance continued its moniker. revelations that it the single air traffic controller was asleep on the job has raised bigger questions about how we are staffing airports across the country. >> i blame whoever puts one person in control at 12:00 midnight. >> he was on a flight from miami and recalls the situation moments before landing during the midnight hour. >> the captain came on the speaker and said you won't believe this but we cannot get in contact with the tower

control. >> radio transmission between american airlines pilots and our regional air controller 40 miles away revealed the pilots had already circled around the airport once. moments later a flight from chicago safely landed after being alerted to the situation from the regional controller. aviation experts say the real safety threat was not in the air, but on the ground where crews or equipment could been on the runway. we have learned that the air traffic controller, a 20-year- veteran and supervisor has been suspended. there are now at least two air- traffic controllers in the tower at reagan national at all hours day and night. that is a change after the big incident. pamela brown, abc 7 news. back to you. >> thank you. thousands of runners will take to the streets of dc tomorrow for the national marathon.

it begins at 7:00 a.m. at rfk stadium. a number streets will be closed during the race including parts of pennsylvania and constitution avenues. metro will open at 6:00 a.m. to accommodate the runners. we are just hours away from the start of an event that brings people from all over to washington. the cherry blossoms festival opens tomorrow. brianne carter joins us from the tidal basin with what is ahead. >> some of these trees are already blooming. it is a 16-day festival. the national park service has shortened the peak bloom time from six days to four. from next tuesday until next friday. people coming out to the cherry blossom festival, there will be a new tone this year. this comes in the wake tragic natural disaster in deadpjapan the

earthquake and tsunami. people are trying to pick up the pieces to emerge from the devastation. that will be on the minds of many as they come down to participate at the festival. >> it is a dichotomy that there's always ud and there's always a tragedy going on all over the world at any time. we when we have the tragedy and we should enjoy the beauty. >> it will start tomorrow through april 10. next tuesday through next friday will be the peak bloom time for the cherry blossom trees. on the weekend you may need to bring a few extra layers. there's a possibility of snow in the forecast if you are taking in the trees. you will want to bundle up. abc 7 news. 5:06, 33 degrees. >> acting we appreciate that.

no mistake. still to come, to politics. new indications that one faces in the tea party movement is coming closer to a decision on a presidential run. >> another check of your friday morning commute. you are watching "good morning washington." >> the feds are giving d.c. $2.8 million to install hundreds of security cameras at metro stations.

time for a check on traffic and weather every 10 minutes. >> steve rudin is in the weather center with the latest on the frigid we can forecast. >> it is a cold start to our friday. unfortunately, if you like he'd and humidity, you will not get any this weekend. -- heat and humidity. it is 34 degrees at children's hospital. the wind out of the northwest at 3 miles per hour. it is in the upper 20's to low 30's. 36 degrees at annapolis, 30 at dulles. mainly clear skies, thanks to an area of high pressure, and clouds will decrease later this afternoon.

the storm system will arrive late tomorrow night into early sunday. no need to worry about today. temperatures around 45-50 degrees. nighttime lows in the 20's. we have some snow in the extended outlook for early sunday morning. we will talk about how much and when it will come to an end and a possibility -- not a possibility, the reality of a warm-up. traffic is warming up. the volume started to increase. normal stuff. southbound on 270 out of urbana 66 in manassas, 95 into dale city. looks good out of frederick into waldorf. no problems in annapolis or sever links on route 50. -- no problems in annapolis or cheverly. looks good at george washington airport.

33 degrees outside. >> developments from japan. the leaking reactor at a damaged nuclear plant suffered critical setback. >> and the latest on libya as the u.s. and nato make a plan to transfer control of the no-fly zone. >> are high tech change many college basketball fans are making this year. >> and an application curtis: welcome back to geico radio, it's savings, on the radio. gecko: caller steve, go right ahead. steve: yeah, um, i just got a free rate quote on geico.com saved a ton, and it only took me 5 minutes and 12 seconds! steve: i was wondering, is that some sort of record? gecko: that's a good question. let's have a look. curtis: mmmm, not quite. someone's got you beat by 8 seconds. gecko: still, i mean, that's... that's quite fast! steve: well, what if i told lyu i only used one hand? anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

good morning. 5:14. following breaking news from ots d.c. an amber alert for two children has been cancelled. two-year-old robert anderson and 10-month-old tiara anderson were taken last night by their father. they were found safely around 4:00 this morning. their father, 22-year-old robert

anderson, was taken into custody. more bad news from the crippled the japanese nuclear power plant. a reactor core may have been reached, raising the possibility of more severe radiation contamination. they're trying to cool down the overheating reactors. nato will pick up some responsibility for enforcing the no-fly zone over libya. diplomats will look for a way to end the crisis during a meeting today in ethiopia. metro leaders hope that a new multimillion-dollar safety initiative will make the trip safer. the agency plans to add more than 100 new cameras at stations all across the system. mike conneen joins us from arlington with details. good morning. >> good morning. happy friday. the department of palm and -- the department of homeland's security is giving

$2.8 million for metro station cameras. until recently they were only installed inside stations. but these will go on the x's and entrances. metro and local law enforcement will have access to the cameras. with robberies and assaults becoming a more frequent concern for metro, there is hope that more surveillance will cut down on crime. metro is especially concerned about teenagers hanging around stations because they have been committing a quarter of the crimes on metro. the agency already has cameras inside on real platforms, some garages, and parking lots. many of those cameras are old and the quality of the footage is sometimes so poor that faces cannot be identified and police cannot use the footage as evidence in investigations. the new cameras are high- quality and our color models and some may have smart technology that better identifies faces.

the cameras could be installed as soon as september. mike conneen, abc 7 news. new census numbers show that d.c. demographics and changed dramatically over the last half century. as of 2010, little more than a 50% of washington's residents are black. 35% are white. 9% are hispanic. a decade ago nearly 60% of the city was blacked and blessed and 30% was white. the new d.c. is also in wealthier. the gap between rich and poor keeps growing. -- a decade ago, less than 30% was quwhite 36% of people that strained

the official march madness covered the last week watched on their iphone or ipad. have you ever taken a photograph and could not wait to share it with your friends? anyone nearby that's also running that application can see your pictures now. it's available for the iphone and android. the girl scouts have released their own applications for the iphone ipad, or ipod touched that would give you the nearest cookie sales and it provides sales data. it gives a new meaning to cookies on this mobile device. i am rob nelson. 5:18 time for traffic and weather. what is going on with the cold? >> sunday morning not only will

we have to cherry blossoms with white stuff but we will have the real stuff on the ground. >> in the city? >> gas. but the better chance is way off to the west. -- yes in the city. we will start off with the futurecast. this is what it will look like at 1:00 this afternoon. clouds will roll in from the west. the clouds will stick around for the overnight. thicker clouds off to the west across the potomac highlands and into the shenandoah valley. let's move ahead as we go through the day and look into tonight. a chance of snow flurries. not looking for stimulation, but the best chance would be south and west of d.c. as we go through the day tomorrow skies will be clearing a little. off to the west of us, look at what it looks like sunday morning. the areas shaded in blue indicate snow.

this is 1:00 in afternoon on sunday. the models are carrying it a little later into the day on sunday as opposed to early sunday. la plata fredericksburg. it is a little early to tell how much we could get, but it could go to the ground -- coat the ground. we will keep you updated here and on tbd.com. 46-50 degrees today with a few light day clouds. the wind out of the northwest at 5-10. a few snow flurries tonight with a little drizzle possible, 25-33 degrees. tomorrow the clouds will stick around 44-49 degrees with bent out of the northeast and 5-10. the extended outlook only 35 degrees on sunday for the daytime high. even colder off to the west.

70% chance of snowfall. clearing by monday. by next week finally temperatures back in the mid to upper 50's, but still below average. i will take that compared to the 30 opposing or 40's. things running nicely around the beltway. it was overnight construction on the beltway near route 50. that's great. traffic on the beltway near route 4 moving at speed. looks good at the wilson bridge. looks good inside the beltway at new york avenue and kenilworth ave. metro rail is on normal service. normal travel times between fredericksburg and baltimore along 95. looks good on 66, 270 and on the dulles toll boat. back to you. >> thank you. 5:21 on this friday. >33 degrees outside.

>> coming up on this friday morning -- >> the tournament is cruel. >> duke takes a wrong turn on the way to the final four. we will tell you who is moving on, just ahead. >> today on "oprah," her australian adventure continues 4:00 on abc 7.

here comes jimmer fredette. woh. >> march madness continued last night with the first series of sweeps 16 games. byu could not hold off florida. thcongratulations to them, moving into the elite 8. uconn butler, and arizona also advancing. now the rest of sports. >> the national's are finalizing a roster for opening day and deciding yesterday where jason words in the lineup. he will go second because of his ability to get on base. last night the nationals showed how effective they can be against the detroit tigers.

jason it's a bomb to the left field and put the nationals of 3-0 his first home run as a national. then mike gets his chance two back later, goes to center. the national's win this one 5- 2. the attention grabber is cam newton, he skyrocketed after the nfl scouting. some scouts claimed he could be the first overall pick. he is scheduled to work out with the redskins in mid april. have a good day. 5:26 on this friday morning, 33 degrees. the news continues at 5:30. >> the next step in va's legal challenge to president obama's help care law. >> the change of command for the

libyan no-fly zone. emily schmidt in washington, what it means for the u.s., coming up. >> steve rudin in the belfort furniture weather center. it is clear outside right now but are you ready for a little sn

live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> good friday morning everybody. 5:30. one of washington's most famous celebrations is less than a day away. the cherry blossoms are blooming this morning. we will tell you the peak times for viewing, details about the festival, and some road closures you need to know. good morning, washington. it's friday, march 25. thanks for joining us, i am alison starling.

>> i am cynne simpson. thanks for waking up with us. we begin with traffic and weather every ten minutes. meteorologist steve rudin. >> a cold start to this friday. nbc is tribes -- at least isit is dry. mainly clear for the morning. the clouds will approach from the west this afternoon. we could see a little drizzle as we move into the overnight. snow flurries may move to the south of d.c., but we don't expect accumulation. look to the left side of the screen. an approaching storm system will continue to develop and could bring accumulating snow in the form of several inches by sunday afternoon. a complete look at the forecast in much more detail. in julyenjoy the weather today

because there will be changes on sunday. changes are just the bottom. everything still in our favor as far as travel times. 66 and 95 in virginia, 95 and the b-w parkway. as you come off the 14th street bridge towards the reagan building on a lower 14th street there's a crash heading into southwest d.c. traffic is getting by to the right. back to you. >> thank you. 5:31 is the time. breaking news from northeast. an amber alerts for two missing children has been cancelled. two-year-old robert anderson iii and 10-month-old tiara anderson were found safe. their father 22-year-old robert anderson was taken into custody without incident. he took them last night in the

2300 block of 15th street northeast. the cherry blossoms festival opens officially tomorrow. brianne carter joins us from the tidal basin with a look ahead. it is beautiful behind you. >> yes and just in time for the festival, some trees already gloomy. the peak bloom time is going to be four days instead of six now. the people will be from next tuesday through next friday. emotions are expected to be heightened in the wake of what is going on in japan. already starting to cover the tidal basin in a sea of pink the trees represent a sign of renewal as the people of japan emerged from tragedy. >> its will and epitomize the storied resilience 8 of the

japanese people. >> after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in japan, many say this year's 16-day festival will be filled with activities and a motion. >> they need to know people all over the world feel their pain. we are there for them. >> last night hundreds gathered at the washington monument to stand in solidarity with the people of japan. this year the festival will raise relief funds for those in during so much in that country. >> we love the japanese people and we support them and our hearts ache for them. >> all the money raised will go to the red cross to help with relief efforts still going on there in japan. the festival starts tomorrow and runs through april 10. if you are heading out this weekend, you may want to add an extra layer. possibility of snow on sunday while taking in all the cherry blossom trees. brianne carter, abc 7 news.

there's more bad news from the fight to contain the leaking radiation in tokyo. one reactor at the fukushima plant may have suffered a core breach, that means the possibility of more severe radiation into the environment. the official death toll from the quake and tsunami has topped 10,000. 17,000 more people are still listed as missing. we have learned the u.s. is finally ready to hand over command of the operation against gaddafi in libya. the change from the u.s. and nato could come as early as tomorrow as a secondary country offers airplanes. emily schmidt has the latest from washington. good morning. . >> -- >> good morning. the pentagon said yesterday at 75% of the combat air missions are now flown by coalition

partners. it's a point to be official. nato announced yesterday that it will enforce the no-fly zone over libya. that means the u.s. could hand over control and command by this weekend. that would put the u.s. in a support role. things like surveillance missions and refueling flights. a combat mission could still be possible. there's more help on the way. united arab emirates is now on board and it will sent 12 planes to join the coalition effort. yesterday gaddafi sent up an aircraft into the no-fly zone and it was shot down. the u.n. secretary-general says libyan government officials will meet with rebels today in ethiopia. they will try to talk about a potential cease-fire. the un secretary general says there are no signs so far that gaddafi has tried to respect a cease-fire. abc 7 news. 5:35.

minnesota republican michelle bachmann may be tossing her hat into the 2012 race. the tea party favorite is feeling the pressure to run for the oval office. an announcement could come as soon as may. she's a three-term congresswoman. she says that she has not made up remind. the supreme court will hear virginia lawsuit challenging the health care reform law before a federal appeals court judge. there's a report that the high court will pick up the battle on april 15. a federal appeals court indictment is scheduled to hear the case on may 10. there's no timetable for the justices do not issue a ruling. 33 degrees outside. >> still ahead, a legendary entertainer is laid to rest. we will have more on the funeral service for elizabeth taylor. >> congresswoman gabrielle giffords is moving forward on the road to recovery. ahead, except that she just took

and details on a plan for her to attend the space shuttle launch of her husband. >> and the latest on the mornin

i am with the national park service. soon, cherry blossoms. come down and enjoy all the beauty. good morning, washington. 5:39 4 traffic and weather

every ten minutes. we cannot get over this forecast. >> it is wrong. >> it is wrong on a lot of levels. it will still be pretty with the cherry blossoms. with a little snow on the ground, what can we do? it's 27 in manassas, 32 at reagan national airport. the satellite and radar shows it will be quiet and dry in the morning hours but clouds will approach from the west later this afternoon and could squeeze out a few snow flurries or sprinkles to the south and d.c. in the overnight. not expecting any accumulation. the bigger story will be saturday night into sunday. that is when the entire region could be looking at accumulating snow. 44 degrees by noon with plenty of sunshine.

increasing clouds, 46 degrees for the temperature at 5:00. in the nighttime falling to low 40's and then the 20's for most of the area by the time you wake up tomorrow morning early. now an update on the commute. volume increasing, no accidents in virginia, looks good in fairfax. a nice run on the george washington parkway. 395 northbound at duke street moving at a good pace. we take you to the district where they have a minor crash northbound on the 14th -- after the 14th street bridge before you get to independence ave. you can see the passing lights. traffic coming off the bridge has to stay to the right. we will go to maryland in our final camera, where nothing is complicated on the beltway at kenilworth ave. that's good. but now to news. 33 degrees outside on this friday morning 5:41.

>> 3 police helped to save hostages life and now they're going back to work. >> the fight against a raging wildfire in colorado and rescue crews could finally have the upper hand. >> a little later not quite the white house welcome the president is used

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checking our top stories at 5:45. the rescue attempt for construction worker trapped in a trench in northeast failed. the man was buried alive under pounds of heavy mud. it was hours before fire crews could reach him. he had altered the support system. his name has not been released. 3 takoma park police officers who shot a suspect during a hostage standoff are headed back to work. a grand jury cleared them of any

wrongdoing. espinoza-arcia held them at gunpoint and then slipped on a patch of snow and the hostage was able to run free. a wildfire in colorado is 70% contained. it's a two-point 5 square mile area south of denver. high winds and dry conditions helped to spread the fire. details about a public memorial service for elizabeth taylor have not been announced. but a hollywood icon was buried yesterday at forest lawn- glendale. the private service started 15 minutes late, just as elizabeth taylor had instructed. she requested that someone announced that she even wanted to be late former on funeral. fans gathered outside to pay tribute. >> it is unreel that she's not here anymore. she had so many years ahead of her. it's very heartfelt. >> i was in love with her.

she was my example of what a star was. >> taylor died wednesday of congestive heart failure. she was 79 years old. congresswoman gabrielle giffords is walking and talking as she continues on the road to recovery. her husband mark kelly spoke at a nasa news conference today. he will command a space shuttle endeavor on its final mission next month. he says that his wife has made remarkable progress. she is fully aware now of what happened. >> improving every day. in the realm of brain injuries that is significant and pretty rare. she is starting to process some of the tragedy that we all went through in january. she is going through that as we speak. >> during a news conference, he and his five-member crew wore a turquoise bracelets that had

been named gabby on them. he is confident his wife will be able to pretend the shuttle launch next week -- next month and is waiting for the ok from doctors. time for traffic and weather every ten minutes. >> now to steve rudin. the talk of snow. >> a little talk of snow. it will not be a tremendous amount or blizzard conditions. but the fact that it's coming in mid to late march does not rest well with a lot of people. it will look really pretty. and it's happening on a weekend as opposed to a big day, so that's good news. there's no snow or clouds or rain right now. criticized -- clear skies. we will have bright sunshine in the afternoon. 32 currently at reagan national airport with a wind chill of 27

out of the north northwest at 5. oxon hill, high temperatures so far was 39 around midnight. it's 31 now in upper northwest d.c. and the same in vienna. temperatures holding around the freezing mark. skies are clear right now banks to an area of high pressure, but the clouds are beginning to build to the west of us. the clouds will filter into the mid-atlantic later this afternoon and may give us a sprinkle or snow flurries south of the sea. not expecting accumulation. there's the potential for light flurries in culpeper and manassas at 11:00 tonight. as we move into the day tomorrow clouds will pick up in the afternoon and there could be snowfall on sunday morning and afternoon. higher amounts to the south and west, lesser amounts for the northeast.

46-degree today with sunshine. it's going to be cold. like a cloud. mostly cloudy tonight with its chance of drizzle and flurries not expecting much, 25-low 40's. a cold day tomorrow, 44-49. that's nothing compared to sunday with high temperatures in the mid 30's. snow will be gone by midday. monday and tuesday will be the clearing process and a warming process. highs on wednesday and thursday in the mid to upper 50's to about 60. we are in good shape in virginia. no problems on the wilson bridge, the american legion bridge, southbound on 270. typical volume out of frederick into montgomery county. crash on 14th street after the bridge but before the reagan building is gone. i was curious to know if there was any delay.

this is 395 at duke street, looks good. back to you. >> thank you. 5:50. the question is which fast-food restaurant do facebook and twitter users like most? >> linda bell has that and a look at and foreclosure paperwork problems. . >> let's look at the government. it may have known about foreclosure abuses and law earlier -- may have known about foreclosure abuses earlier than thought. in 2006. in florida there were false statements made in court so that banks could foreclose on houses more quickly. there's a 20-year contract to provide the state department with electricity from consolation energy. that will provide energy for

some buildings in the white house complex as well. looking at consumer confidence today. stock-index futures headed to a higher open. what is your favorite fast-food restaurant? subway. . -- jimmy john's as well. linda bell reporting for abc 7 news. have a great weekend. 5:52 33 degrees out

5:55. it seems even the president of the united states can get locked out of his house once in awhile. he returned home early from his five-day trip to latin america but no one told the staff he was coming home early. the president tried to open one of the doors and it was locked. he kept on walking to the next door, which was open. then he got inside. >> my thinking is is probably better to have the oval office locked. >> i would assume because of high security that there would not be a need to lock the front door.

>> i would think it would be locked every once in awhile. people do leave the keys in their cars. >> it is different when you leave your keys in the car in a parking lot of versus the secure white house. >> a lot of important things in there. in montana a man who mimics the female voice is exchanges his $4,000 bed for a prison bed. he pretended to be his ex-wife on the phone and made calls to open up a line of credit and to order an expensive be andd a laptop computer. the case against him developed after his ex-wife found the credit report on. he has been ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution and will spend a year in prison. >> i would love to hear the audio tapes of that call. >> maybe we could get those.

5:57, a lot more still to come. >> we will go to the tidal basin for a look at this weekend's opening of the cherry blossom festival. >> only on seven, an airline passenger describes the under experience on an airplane landing at reagan national without clearance -- be unnerving experience. >> and lisa baden will help you navigate your friday morning commute. we have made it to friday, but we have a cold weekend unrest.

straight ahead breaking news. a d.c. amber alert campbell -- cancelled and a suspect in custody. >> and an air traffic controller at the center of controversy admits the truth. >> and blossoms are blooming, for one of washington's most famous celebrations. we will take a look ahead to the start of the cherry blossom festival. "good morning washington" continues right now. live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> good morning, washington. thanks for joining us. 6:00 on this friday morning. we have to cherry blossoms and snow forecast for the same weekend. i am aliso